My Favourite 25 Australasian Websites

12 January 2019

Back in December 2009 I wrote a blog post 50 Australian Websites for Family History and it is interesting to see what has changed in just nine short years. Most are still there, some have changed names, some have disappeared or been absorbed into other sites and of course, there is even more content online today. I ended that post with perhaps there should be a Top 100 list.

Now my thoughts are that the list should be shorter, not longer. What Australasian websites could I simply not do without? Or should the focus be narrower and only on one state or territory? Whenever you compile a list you automatically start to leave things out.

My students at U3A know that I am always talking about big ponds and little ponds. Do we search in the megadata bases (big ponds) and hope to narrow down to the right ancestors or do we search in little ponds where the results are smaller but more likely to be correct, assuming of course our ancestors swam in that little pond?

As a disclaimer, I am not being paid in any form to include a website on this list. They are simply my own favourite sites, grouped together by broad subject.

Queensland State Archives Reading Room Jun 2016

Archives

As a former archivist I simply must include my favourites with free digitised records online.

Archives New Zealand – some digitised images also available through FamilySearch

Public Record Office Victoria – some digitised images also available through Ancestry and FamilySearch

State Archives & Records New South Wales – some digitised images also available through Ancestry

Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office

BDMs

Most states have their indexes online to search free and the cost of images/certificates varies. My favourites are:

Queensland – once payment is made you can download the image and keep researching

Tasmania – digitised free access up to 1900, it does not get any better than that

Victoria – once payment is made you can download the image and keep researching

Cemeteries (Tombstones/burial records)

A popular area and the growth of online resources in this area over the last ten years has been fantastic. I will just include portal sites and there are lots of little ponds if you know where your ancestors died. Most of these include records submitted by volunteers and you need to check coverage as the databases are not comprehensive.

Billion Graves – elsewhere in the world too

My great grandmother Dorcas White nee Trevaskis, Toowong cemetery 1981

Australian Cemeteries Index – includes more images

Australian Cemeteries Website – links to all types of records

Find A Grave – elsewhere in the world too

Libraries

As a former librarian, I must include a few libraries.

Moreton Bay Region Libraries – remember local libraries are fantastic for local and family history

State Library Queensland – a personal favourite with their WW1 Queensland soldier portraits

State Library Victoria – digitised maps, plans, books, journals and more

Military Records

Australian War Memorial – name indexes and digitised records

Frederick Trevaskis, killed in action WW1

Commonwealth War Graves Commission – indexes and digitised records

National Archives of Australia – digitised army dossiers for Boer War & WW1

Newspapers

Papers Past – maintained by the National Library of New Zealand with digitised access to newspapers, parliamentary papers and more

The Ryerson Index – a newspaper index useful to find more recent deaths and burials

Trove – maintained by the National Library of Australia with a range of zones including digitised newspapers and photographs

Portal Sites

This is where a range of topics have been classified together to make searching easier.  Some may be well known favourites, but others may not. Have a look, they might become your favourites too.

CoraWeb – mainly Australian but other links useful to those with British ancestors

Cyndi’s List Australia – Cyndi includes every country in the world, even Outer Space

Dusty Docs – Australia – also has sections for England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and New Zealand

Wills & Probates

Digitised copies can be seen at Archives New Zealand, Public Record Office Victoria or the Tasmanian Archive & Heritage Office (links above).

A few archives have indexes online.

Queensland State Archives – separate indexes and be aware there are three Supreme Courts in Queensland

State Records Office Western Australia – search by name within the main online catalogue

It is not hard to list 25 websites and I have not mentioned all the state archives and libraries. Nor have I included any genealogy or family history societies which are also a must go to place for anyone researching genealogy and family history.

Everyone’s research is different. What websites would you include in your favourite 25?

Related Posts

Accentuate the Positive Geneameme 2023

Accentuate the Positive Geneameme 2023

I invite you to take part in this activity by responding to the following statements/questions, several of which are new, in a blog post. Write as much or as little as you want and complete as many statements as you wish. If you wish to take part and don't have a...

RootsTech 2023: the in-person view of a first timer

RootsTech 2023: the in-person view of a first timer

RootsTech 2023 has come and gone, and this report is a bit delayed as I spent a further three weeks in the USA. A few days in Florida in Fernandina Beach with a friend then off to Fort Lauderdale for a 7 night cruise in the Caribbean. We visited the Bahamas, Jamaica,...

Report on Family History Down Under November 2022

Report on Family History Down Under November 2022

It was good to finally attend FHDU 2022 a four-day event in person after the delays of Covid. Getting to Castle Hill in Sydney and staying at the Hills Lodge was not cheap but worth it. Most of the speakers were staying there and quite a few of the attendees who I...

Review of Sands of Time Conference Redcliffe October 2022

Review of Sands of Time Conference Redcliffe October 2022

Despite the very unkind weather over the weekend, the Sands of Time genealogy conference was a big success. Three days of genealogy at the Dolphins Leagues Club at Redcliffe, Queensland. Just down the road from where I live if you don’t factor in the highway traffic....

Comments

4 Comments

  1. Disappointed to not see any SA repositories listed.
    SLSA – State LIbrary of SA has an amazing list of shipping which was originally done by Di. Cummings.
    .
    State Records of South Australia
    .
    GenealogySA – South Australian Genealoby and Heraldry Society.
    .
    SAILIS – Land title info

    just to name a few.

  2. Thanks so much for this list 🙂 I have a few lines Down Under that I research and love having more sources to consider!!

  3. Thanks Rossalyn and you are right there are some wonderful SA sites which I use. But I did say that these were what were current favourites and that this changes depending on what I am researching. My partner is SA so if I was to compile this list with his research needs in mind it would be quite different. You have given me a follow up blog post. Thanks.

  4. Thanks Teresa. There are lots of great Australian websites and these are just a few. It really depends on where your research is.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. This week’s crème de la crème — January 19, 2019 | Genealogy à la carte - […] My Favourite 25 Australasian Websites by Shauna Hicks on Shauna Hicks History Enterprises. […]

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.